Red Poppy’s Cafe

I’ve walked past this café numerous times as I’ve made my way to the Bassendean Hotel. I decided to stop in for a sweet after dinner treat to take home. There wasn’t much to choose from but I decided on the vanilla slice. I thought $ 4 was a bit exxy seeing it obviously wasn’t super fresh and also wasn’t the biggest serving. With that said the slice was nice but it wasn’t really adequate. I’d be interested to return for breakfast but the pub will always be my first choice in Bassendean.

But me no buts, lunch at Red Poppy’s.
Young Jeff and I fronted Red Poppy’s after a long meeting at the office. We were both medium hungry and wanting something light to avoid post-​prandial narcolepsy. As I approach pension age I find myself doing involuntary Grandpa Simpson impressions during the afternoon meetings if I overindulge at lunch.
We chose the same table as I did at breakfast. The red and black regiments were still at attention like extras an a 19^th century miltary drama. A few elderly couples were scattered about the tables emulating the walking wounded at Rorkes Drift. The same young serveuse was on duty and smiled a greeting.
A nice thing about Poppy’s is that they do offer both large and small portions on some dishes. Jeff and I both ordered drinks, nice cold beers. They arrived promptly and we ordered our lunch. Myself a small Indonesian Curry and Jeff a small portion Roast Chicken Salad.
A short time later my curry arrived as did Jeff’s choice of meal. Mine served as is the fashion nowadays in a ramekin on an oblong plate with a mould of rice and only a basil (!) leaf as garnish. But the mould of rice was cereal bowl sized and visually overpowered the «just right» portion of curry. My curry sauce was described as ‘mild’ and so it was, but also piquant and it had all the right textures, flavors and colors. My dish was missing the crunch of a poppadom or the sensuous fluffiness of a slice or two of Na’an. A touch of thinly sliced pickled capsicum and sensuous slices of red onion would have been an ideal foil for the flavors, it would have taken out the mundane and replaced with very good. It would also have added color to the plate.
Jeff (starving actors do like their food, but tend not to discriminate) enjoyed his hunger crushing Roast Chicken Salad, served in a boat shaped bowl and announced himself underwhelmed. A couple of tasty dressings or chopped chilli would have presented good sides to this dish. I sampled a glass of a Margeret River Shiraz blend.
Pleasant but not outstanding we agreed about my wine and his meal.
What was good about this visit? The service was outstanding for a café like this. The food was, like my maiden aunt again; distantly nice, unremarkable, fresh and wholesome. The only jarring note was the bloody TV disrupting conversation and why have it on when everyone was ignoring the damn thing?
The meal was less than $ 60 bucks but again, as at breakfast, I left with a vague feeling of dissatisfaction. All those ‘buts’ do add up. Average to good food, drinkable wine, excellent service and very local to the office, but the things that are just not quite right are the things that stop frequent return visits and recommendations.
Bassendean food strip is expanding. A point of difference is needed at Red Poppy’s to make it as successful as the owner’s would hope. Perhaps a maiden Aunt yelling ‘Rubbish’ back at the TV would be an idea.
Next time I visit more of Bassendean’s cafes and takeaways!

Simply a hop skip and a jump from the train station this red light diner is old school cool.
It’s Italian with a dash of multi-​cultural aussie sundays and an asian twist. Name one other restaurant that serves meatballs with chips? Poppy is onto something here– not my style, but I could see a niche market gravitating to this store. The selection is creative and vast and the price is certainly right (pitching between $ 12-​$ 25 for a generous main.) The service is genuine and the man at the counter when I was there last week was everything i hoped «poppy» would be. Jovial, honest and good humoured. I had a drink, chit chatted and souvenir-​ed a menu. For those who simply can’t decide the answer is simple.
Red Poppy’s café is a meal for the masses!

Red Poppy’s Café is a cute little restaurant that serves traditional American cuisine (burgers, fish and chips), mixed with a little Italian cuisine (pasta, risotto, parmigiana) and even some Asian cuisine (fried noodles, fried rice, and curry). The prices are fair and there is a lot of choose from. The best part about Red Poppy’s Café is that everything on the menu is made to order. Nothing is pre made, so you’re getting really fresh food that shines through in the taste. Right now, the restaurant is only open Tuesday — Friday and market day (first Sunday of each month). However, they are building a big outside patio and once that is complete next month, they will be open every day of the week.